Israel-Lebanon: latest Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Gaza as gunman kills woman in Israel

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

Across Israel, residents are preparing to mark the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks, the deadliest day in the country’s history.

Many of the hardest-hit southern communities are holding their own commemoration events.

At Kibbutz Nir Oz, where 46 people were killed, a memorial event will be held in its cemetery and residents will plant “trees of hope.”

Shay Levinson’s mother was killed on the kibbutz and Hamas posted a video of the killing on its own Facebook page.

“As a year has passed, I feel angry. Anger towards the Palestinians and their leaders… Additionally, I feel extreme sadness and disappointment that the hostages spent a full year in Hamas tunnels,” she said.

In the neighboring kibbutz of Beeri, a private memorial event is planned. “I can’t believe a year has passed,” one resident told me.

A large unofficial commemoration event is also planned in Tel Aviv, although the number of participants has been limited due to the threat of rocket attacks. A pre-recorded state memorial is scheduled to be broadcast on television tomorrow evening.

Here in Jerusalem, the Hostage Families Forum called for a rally in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.

“We will come together to remember, to demand action, and to bring our loved ones home,” the group said in a statement today.

Israelis will also mark the day privately.

“Tomorrow will be a sad day for me and my family because it is a day of remembrance of the terrible massacre,” said Lior, 52, a resident of Tel Aviv.

“In the morning, I will go with my children to place hostages to (show) my support. I will read life stories about the murdered, as I have been doing since October 7, to remember and not forget.”